13. In the math preparation room with Ray
Another day of studying began. On this day, Lucinda decided to go and ask Ray a question about a math problem.
This time, instead of setting up a recording device in the classroom, Mia disguised the device as a hairpin and made Lucinda slip it into the pocket of her uniform. It was as if she was a spy.
And when Lucinda was about to leave the classroom to go look for Ray, Mia told her that he should be alone in the math prep room at this time.
“Mr. Ray, are you here?”
“Oh, Lucinda. What’s up?”
He really was there! And there didn’t seem to be any other teachers.
‘Mia knows exactly what the characters are doing at all times……. Is this the power of an otome game geek……?’
Shocked by Mia’s stalker-like ability to know where Ray was, Lucinda was slow to react when Ray told her to come inside if she wanted to ask him a question.
“Oh! Mr. Ray, I’m sorry to bother you. I really wanted to ask you something.”
As she entered the room cautiously, afraid that Ray might find out about the hairpin, Lucinda saw him frowning as he looked at her.
For a moment, Lucinda thought he had noticed the magic tool. But apparently he had something else on his mind.
“It’s kind of weird to hear you call me ‘Mr.’ and use honorifics.”
“Yeah, I’ve been calling you ‘Ray’ for a long time, and you’ve been talking to me casually, too. But now you’re a teacher, so I can’t just talk to you like I used to.”
“……..I thought you were a wild child, but you’re surprisingly mature. Well, it really can’t be helped, you should keep calling me ‘Mr. Ray’ at the academy.”
Lucinda sat down on the chair facing Ray as he sighed.
‘It’s been a long time since we’ve talked at such a close distance, so I’m a little nervous.’
“So, what’s your question?”
“I’m trying to figure out how to solve a problem on this page.”
“Let me see.”
“It’s this one.”
When Lucinda opened the textbook and showed the question to Ray, he began to act like a teacher and took out a pen and notebook to write something down.
“Do you remember this formula? You can use this formula to solve this kind of problem. Here, try it.”
“Ohhh, that was the right formula. Okay, and what do I do after that……?”
“Well, you have to move the numbers on the left side of the equation to the right side.”
“That’s right! And then you do this. Oh, I got it!”
No matter how much she thought about it, she hadn’t been able to solve the problem for a long time. But thanks to Ray’s explanation, she was able to solve it easily. After all, it’s always easier to understand when someone teaches you one-on-one. In addition, Ray was quietly watching over her, giving her precise support, so she could think calmly without being rushed.
“I’m so glad that I have Mr. Ray as my math teacher.”
Lucinda spoke her sincere feelings out loud. Then Ray smiled and revealed a surprising fact.
“That’s because I majored in mathematics with the intention of teaching you.”
“What?”
“Remember, when we first met, you said that you were bad at math.”
‘I mean…I might have said something like that. But I didn’t expect him to remember what I said during our first meeting. Yet, he majored in mathematics for me? I’m flattered, but also a little confused as to why he would go to such lengths.’
“It’s to return the favor of waking me up from my twisted stupor back in the days.”
“Returning the favor…..?”
Lucinda tilted her head, wondering if she had done something so important, and Ray took something out of a drawer and handed it to Lucinda. It was a small piece of candy wrapped in yellow wrapping paper.
“Here, it’s your reward for solving the problem. Don’t tell the other students about it.”
Lucinda nodded her head.
“If you have any more questions or problems, you can always come back. Good luck with your exams.”
Ray patted Lucinda’s head as if he were soothing a child, then watched her as she left the room.
‘My brother…and even Mr. Ray? Is my head in a shape that makes it easy to pat or something ……?’
As she ate the candy that Ray had given her, she tasted a faintly sweet strawberry flavor in her mouth.
◇◇◇
Time flew by, and finally the day arrived when the exam results were announced.
Since the school displayed the overall rankings of the exams, it would be quite embarrassing to be at the bottom.
When Lucinda went to go look at the board, a crowd had already gathered. Some of the students were happy with their rankings and posed with joy, while others were sad and sullen.
‘I was taught by my brother and Mr. Ray, and I think I did relatively well. I’m sure it’s not that bad…’
Lucinda squeezed her hands together as if in prayer and looked for her name on the ranking list.
‘My name, my name, there it is!’
Surprisingly, Lucinda’s name was there, in 15th place.
The entire school year has fifty students, so Lucinda’s ranking was pretty good.
’15th place! I’m amazing!’
By the way, the student who took first place in this exam was Aaron, and the second place was occupied by Lyle.
‘Both of them have high academic ability as well as status.’
As Lucinda was admiring them, Mia came over to her, seeming to be in a good mood.
“Lucinda! Congratulations!~ You did a great job”
“Thanks. How’d it go for you, Mia?”
“I came in fifth.”
“Wow, that’s amazing. You worked hard, Mia.”
When Lucinda congratulated her on her good performance, Mia suddenly got a crazed look in her eye and grabbed Lucinda’s hand.
“Fu Fu Fu…It’s all thanks to the most precious video I’ve ever seen. I owe all it to you, Lucinda. Thank you!”
“Um, you’re welcome…I guess.”
The rest of the day was a struggle for Lucinda, who was trying to get away from Mia’s strong grip. The cute main character who refused to let go of her hands kept trying to tell Lucinda how wonderful the video was.
Although she had already surpassed him in terms of cumulative life experience from her previous life, Lucinda realized that from now on, she would be better off not trying to surpass him in terms of intellectual age.
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TL:Nozomi
ED:Ali
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